The End of the Empire

Rome’s Greatness At Rome's height in the early 100’s it included all the land around the Mediterranean Sea including Britain.

To Large for its Own Good The empire did not stay that large for long. By the end of the 200’s emperors had given up land because they feared the empire had become too large to defend or govern effectively. These emperors were RIGHT!!

External Threats to Rome Germanic warriors attacked Rome’s Northern boarders. Very fierce warriors The Romans were able to defend for 200 years but at great cost

Internal Threats to Rome Because of the fighting in the North many Romans abandoned their land near the boarders. Rome allowed these tribes to farm on their land. Over time, whole Germanic communities had moved into the empire and choose their own leaders and ignoring the emperor.

Internal Threats to Rome Disease swept through the empire, killing many people. The government was forced to raise taxes for defense But many of the Romans couldn’t pay. The Romans looked for a strong leader, they found Diocletian.

Diocletian Diocletian took power in the late 200’s. He believed the empire was too big for one person to rule. He divided the empire into 2 parts. An East and a West. He ruled the Eastern half and picked a co-ruler for the Western half.

Constantine Shortly after Diocletian left power Constantine reunited the empire. He moved the capital East to modern day Turkey and called it Constantinople. He also ended the ban on religion allowing Christianity to flourish. Even though the empire was called the Roman empire. Rome was no longer the center of power.

The Decline of Rome

The Huns The foreign tribes that had settled in the North began raiding deep into the heart of the empire. Fierce warriors from Central Asia called the Huns began invading southeastern Europe. Some of the Huns victims were the Goths. Unable to defeat the Huns the Goths flee into Roman territory.

The Goths The emperors were scared the Goths would destroy land and property. The Eastern empire is successful at repelling the Goths, pushing them further West. But the Western empire is unsuccessful and fails. Large numbers of Goths move into the empire.

Fighting the Goths The Romans fought desperately to keep the Goths from Rome. They even paid them not to attack. But when they stopped making payments, the Goths marched into Rome and destroyed the city in 410 A.D.

The Fall of the Western Empire The Gothic victory inspired other tribes to invade the Western Empire. The Vandals, Angles, Saxons, Jutes, and Franks all launched attacks.

The Fall of the Western Empire At the same time the Huns, under a fearsome leader named Attila, raided territory in the East. Rome needed strong leader, but the emperors were weak. Generals tired to rule Rome and fought amongst themselves. This made Rome even weaker. In 476 A.D. a foreign general overthrew the last emperor in Rome and named himself king. This event is considered the end of the Western Roman Empire.

Size & Political Reasons The size of the empire was too big to govern effectively. Making communication difficult especially during war. Corruption in the government. Officials used threats or bribes to get what they wanted. Often ignored the needs of citizens. As a result, Rome’s government was no longer effective.

Weakening Army The Empire needed a strong army to protect its borders. Rome hired MERCENARIES, paid soldiers, from other provinces to protect Rome. These soldiers did not care about Rome. Powerful generals kept fighting among themselves about who should be the next emperor. This fighting caused Rome to have at least 23 emperors in 73 years. All but one were assassinated.

Internal Struggles The rich left the city and created their own armies for protection. Some tried to take power and overthrow the emperors.